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Lost Custody - POV

Okay, this is the point of view mini-stories for Lost Custody. Let’s get started. First one with the phrase “Twenty years ago.”

Twenty years ago, there was a student named Yuriko. She was unfit to be a student. Every day she came to school late. Then she belittled the other students. When another student made a mistake, Yuriko yelled, “Are you stupid? Do you have a mental disability? What’s wrong with you, you idiot?”

One day, another student named Jenwah complained to A.J., the teacher. She said, “I’m frightened by Yuriko. I’m going to quit this class.” The teacher said, “Stick it out, Jenwah. Don’t worry. I will get rid of Yuriko. Then we will all be better off.”

The next day, A.J., the teacher, brought a gun to class. He pointed the gun at Yuriko and threatened her. He said, “Yuriko, if you come to my class again, I will kill you; and then I will take custody of your son and beat him every day. So leave, now!” Yuriko was frightened by A.J.’s threat. She started to cry. Then she ran out of the class. The other students cheered, “Yea, Yuriko’s gone!”

Okay, the next version begins with “Since January.”

Since January, there has been a new student in A.J.’s class. Her name is Yuriko. Yuriko is unfit to be a student. Every day she has come to school late. Then she has belittled the other students. When another student has made a mistake, Yuriko has always yelled, “Are you stupid? Do you have a mental disability? What’s wrong with you, you idiot?”

Well, one day, another student named Jenwah complained to A.J., the teacher. She said, “I’m frightened by Yuriko. I’m going to quit this class.” The teacher said, “Stick it out, Jenwah. Don’t worry. I’ll get rid of Yuriko. Then we’ll all be better off.”

The next day, A.J. brought a gun to school. He pointed the gun at Yuriko and threatened her. He said, “Yuriko, if you come to my class again, I will kill you; and then I’ll take custody of your son and beat him every day. So leave, now!” Yuriko was frightened by AJ’s threat. She started crying, and then she ran out of the class. The other students cheered, “Yea!”

Okay, you’ll notice that when I – in the beginning there – I used the have – have – she has come to school. She has belittled the other students, because those are things she did every day starting in January up until now. But I said Yuriko is unfit to be a student. I said that because that’s a general statement about her that’s always true. Past, present, and probably in the future, too.

So I used the present tense in that one; and then I switched to the past. I said, “One day, another student named Jenwah,” and now we’re describing one thing that happened. It already happened. It’s totally finished. So that’s when I switched to simple past again.

Don’t worry. Don’t think about the verb tenses. Don’t think about the names: present perfect, past, blah-blah-blah. Don’t worry about that. Just listen for when I change. Try to get a feeling – a feeling for when I’m changing. Okay?

So listen carefully. That’s your only job. Do not try to memorize the rules. Do not try to remember all those grammar rules. Just try to get a feeling for when I change the verb tenses and maybe why do I do it. That’s all. That’s all you need to do.

All right, next one, let’s go to the future. Back to the future. “In ten years,” starting with “In ten years.” Here we go.

In the future, ten years from now, in ten years, there will be a class; and in the class, there will be a student named Yuriko. Yuriko will be unfit to be a student. Every day she’ll come to class late. Then she’ll belittle the other students. When another student makes a mistake, Yuriko will yell, “Are you stupid? Do you have a mental disability? What’s wrong with you, you idiot?”

Now, one day, another student named Jenwah will complain to the teacher, whose name is A.J. She’ll say, “I’m frightened by Yuriko. I’m going to quit this class.” The teacher’ll say, “Stick it out, Jenwah. Don’t worry. I’ll get rid of Yuriko. Then we’ll all be better off.”

The next day, A.J.’ll bring a gun to class. He’ll point the gun at Yuriko and threaten her. “Yuriko, if you come to my class again, I’ll kill you; and then I’ll take custody of your son and beat him every day. So leave, now!” Yuriko will be frightened by AJ’s threat. She’ll start crying, and then she’ll run out of the class. The other students will cheer, “Yea! Yuriko’s gone. Yea!”

All right, that’s all for the point of view stories. Please now, go back. Listen to the first one, then pause and try to tell the first story yourself beginning with 20 years ago. Try to tell all the story and use the correct verbs and the correct vocabulary. Then listen to the second one, starting with “Since January.” Listen to it a few times, and then pause and try to tell it yourself out loud, maybe alone in your room or something.

And then, finally, listen to the third one beginning with “In ten years,” or “Ten years from now”; and try to tell that one yourself, also. Okay, if you have trouble, if you can’t remember exactly the words to say or you make a few mistakes, listen, just relax. Okay? Relax. It takes a little time. The most important thing is to listen very carefully, and to listen again and again and again until you are sleeping and dreaming about these stories. Then it will become automatic.

So please relax about making mistakes. This is not a test. Okay? In fact, you can only listen if you want to. If you want to, just listen. You don’t need to try to tell the stories yourself. If it makes you feel stressed, if it makes you feel nervous or uncomfortable to pause and speak, then don’t do it. Only tell the stories if you are relaxed about it. If you can do it and you don’t worry, You don’t feel nervous about making mistakes. If you feel nervous, just relax and listen only. That’s fine.

Okay, I’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.